The Lions Of Little Rock

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. Where did segregation come from? To what does the term “separate but equal” refer? What were the Jim Crow Laws? What happened in Plessy v. Ferguson? What is Brown v. Board of Education?

Teaching Suggestion: The protagonist of The Lions of Little Rock, Marlee, lives in Little Rock, Arkansas amid tensions that arise due to integration. It may be beneficial to broach and discuss these general questions on segregation before examining the concept of integration in schools. Then, students might begin investigating to learn what happened in the cases Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. Board of Education. Looking at the timeline and briefly discussing the outcome of Brown v. Board of Education in the Supreme Court ruling that integrated school districts might be beneficial as well.

• This article describes segregation.
• This article provides a timeline of Jim Crow Laws and important events in court that prevented them from being implemented. 

2. Who were the Little Rock Nine? What laws did the state of Arkansas implement to prevent the integration of schools in 1958? What is The Lost Year? Why did many begin attending other schools in Little Rock in 1958? What role did various groups play in the desegregation of schools?

Teaching Suggestion: The Lions of Little Rock is set during the 1958 school year when schools were shut down to prevent the desegregation of schools in Arkansas. The Lost Year, the year schools were closed in Little Rock, was fought by various organizations including STOP. People who were previously content to remain silent on many issues began to speak out against segregation. These questions might serve as a review for students whose history studies include the content, or they might guide student thinking and investigation in discovering more on the historical context of the novel.

• This 3-minute video describes the Little Rock Nine in 1957 and the subsequent laws attempting to bypass desegregation in Arkansas in 1958.
• This 7-minute video interviews some of the people who lived in Little Rock during The Lost Year.

Short Activity

Consider the information you have learned about Little Rock and The Lost Year. Create a poster in support of the integration of school districts in Little Rock. Use the poster to highlight the shared benefits of a variety of perspectives in one classroom.

Teaching Suggestion: Resources like the articles below might aid in jumpstarting this activity. Students may be interested in learning about the various methods used to grab the attention of someone who would see their poster (e.g., dramatic catchphrases, vibrant colors, and pictures). It may be helpful to clarify that the purpose of the poster is to motivate others to act on behalf of integration in schools during the Jim Crow era. 

• This article describes the benefits of diversity in the classroom.
• This article provides details regarding why schools for African American children, historically, have been unequal to white schools.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the novel.

Describe a time when it was difficult for you to do what you knew to be the right thing. Why did you feel pressure to keep quiet or do nothing when you knew you should speak out? What obstacles often stand in the way of doing what individuals believe to be correct? What are some strategies you can use to confront difficult problems?

Teaching Suggestion: You may want to connect to the novel by revealing that main character, Marlee, struggles with confronting racism because of her shyness. It isn’t until she meets her friend, Liz, that Marlee begins to work on overcoming her shyness and confronting racist attitudes in her hometown.

Differentiation Suggestion: For students who require an additional challenge, consider permitting the students to research modern-day segregation or the disproportionate availability of resources for students in inner-city schools versus schools in the suburbs. Ask students to develop an opinion on whether schools still face other forms of segregation and to share their sources that support or prove their ideas.